Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has proposed a hard fork that would reassign coins linked to Satoshi Nakamoto to investors in a new blockchain project.
The proposed fork, called eCash, would clone Bitcoin’s ledger and redistribute roughly 500,000 BTC associated with early mining patterns believed to belong to Nakamoto, while also granting existing BTC holders equivalent balances on the new chain.
“This will no doubt be a controversial decision, but I think it is necessary, and in fact, ideal,”
Sztorc said.
The new chain would not alter Bitcoin itself but instead create a separate network with modified ownership rules, allowing investors to gain exposure through reassigned coins ahead of its planned launch.
Critics, including Jameson Lopp, dismissed the proposal as a publicity stunt, noting such changes would require broad consensus to impact Bitcoin’s main network.
Previous hard forks such as Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic have historically struggled to match the value and adoption of their original networks.
The proposal highlights ongoing tensions within the crypto ecosystem over governance, decentralisation, and the treatment of early Bitcoin holdings as new experimental forks emerge.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $77,090.15.